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Oscars for Score and Song to "Slumdog"

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Author	Topic: Oscars for Score and Song to "Slumdog"

Crono/Kyp Standard Userer	No shocker there... --Brian NP: Wall-E
posted 02-22-2009 09:03 PM PT (US)

gkgyver Standard Userer	Can't Elfman just rename himself Dahn-Eh Elfmanovic or something? Maybe he'd do better then.
posted 02-22-2009 09:09 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by gkgyver: Can't Elfman just rename himself Dahn-Eh Elfmanovic or something? Maybe he'd do better then. Or he could just write a better score... Anyway, I bet he doesn't care if he "wins" or not.
posted 02-22-2009 09:30 PM PT (US)

Al Standard Userer	It sure isn't the same without Gustavo around to swagger up to the podium and snatch himself another award. I almost expected him to appear in one of the Slumdog songs, swipe one of the drums, and pound on it with his two Oscars.
posted 02-22-2009 10:22 PM PT (US)

Al Standard Userer	Also, did anyone else think it was odd that MG scored Spielberg's approach to the podium with the theme from The Lost World? Of all the things to pick. Just one of many musical surprises, including The Day The Earth Stood Still and Escape From The Planet of The Apes. I also caught a brief big-band arrangement of Goldsmith's Oscar theme during a cut to commercial.
posted 02-23-2009 07:50 AM PT (US)

Widescreen Standard Userer	My biggest problems with the music categories this year are twofold: One, the academy only had three songs nominated out of the many from the year? That's got to be off. How could they ignore John Mayer's "Say" from The Bucket List. Fantastic lyrics and beautiful music- it's a very uplifting song that is hard to seperate from the film. Shameful snub, right there. But then again, all this is coming from the guy would've just as soon seen "The Little Things" from Wanted get nominated and win. Two: A.R. Rahman is a long line in the last four years of composers who are outside of mainstream hollywood culture, which isn't a problem, but stateside guys need to work a little harder at making more memorable scores. Some folks here have said they were unimpressed with scores at large lately, I think, for the same reason. Now it has affected the award set. And I still feel that Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard should have gone all the way for The Dark Knight. Just one more example of how the Academy doesn't award work for comics and sci-fi. The fans just don't get the respect from certain elitists in the creative community.
posted 02-23-2009 07:57 AM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	Widescreen: Couldn't agree more! My favourite song for a film last year was Danny Elfman's "The Little Things" and the best score was The Dark Knight. I'm not crazy about Will Smith, but I did laugh at his "Oh yeah, and action movies have fans!" in that little "Action 2008" segment. The skill and talent you need to pull off a great action film surpasses anything you need to put together, say, like The Reader or whatever other melodrama that's been nominated and based on a book. [Message edited by sean on 02-23-2009]
posted 02-23-2009 09:52 AM PT (US)

Widescreen Standard Userer	I see your agreement and raise you further agreement. I'm a populist, which means nothing I like will ever win Best Picture. The closest was 1993's Best PIcture nomination for The Fugitive, 1982's Best Picture nomination for E.T., or 1978's nods to Superman: The Movie. The Academy just doesn't value films the same way I or other people do. I think any film that has the ability to make you feel is great, but one that entertains as it does that is better. Nothing wrong with thought-provocation, every film needs a little of that, some REALLY don't. But overall, I want to have fun at movies. The Reader isn't a fun movie to me. That's kind of why I'm glad Slumdog Millionaire got all those accolades. But I still think it was stupid that The Dark Knight didn't even get a screenplay nomination. Maybe next year we'll see Michael Giacchino get an oscar nod for 'Star Trek'! [Message edited by Widescreen on 02-23-2009]
posted 02-23-2009 10:18 AM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by sean: Widescreen: Couldn't agree more! My favourite song for a film last year was Danny Elfman's "The Little Things" and the best score was The Dark Knight. I'm not crazy about Will Smith, but I did laugh at his "Oh yeah, and action movies have fans!" in that little "Action 2008" segment. The skill and talent you need to pull off a great action film surpasses anything you need to put together, say, like The Reader or whatever other melodrama that's been nominated and based on a book. [Message edited by sean on 02-23-2009] Absolutely! I agree with Widescreen 100%! Some of the other songs that could/should have been nominated: The Wrestler by Bruce Springstein Gran Torino by Jamie Cullum and Don Runner I Thought I Lost You (from Bolt) by Miley Cyrus and John Travolta (Though not a great song, it still could've been nominated over Slumdog IMO and is odd that the Academy didn't nominate it since it's from an Oscar nominated animated movie) I am sure there's more, but these are just off the top of my head. But they apparently just wanted to give it to Slumdog anyway. Same with the score. Speaking of which, isn't that theme the same as Secret Garden by Bruce Springstein? Either way, I would've loved to have seen The Dark Knight nominated for more, but especially for the score. To me, The Dark Knight was the highlight of the year as far as music.
posted 02-23-2009 10:29 AM PT (US)

Al Standard Userer	Wasn't Gladiator's win seen as a populist win? Of course that's more of an exception to the rule, but I think it's still noteworthy.
posted 02-23-2009 10:46 AM PT (US)

Camillu Standard Userer	I found it odd that they played generic oscar music for nearly all the wins, rather than music from the respective film (as cheekily pointed out by the Duchess winner). But overall I liked the show. I liked the score medley, although I wished they chose any other bit from Button, rather than the bit that sounds as if he just arrived in Rivendell ('Postcards').
posted 02-23-2009 11:52 AM PT (US)

Scorro Standard Userer	I wasn't much of a fan of The Dark Knight for entertainment. Batman Begins is a highly entertaining repeat watch movie for me (especially in HD)... but TDK was basically too dark for my tastes, plus a few other items I will refrain from expounding upon. The music for both is good though.
posted 02-23-2009 12:19 PM PT (US)

Widescreen Standard Userer	Funny thing about Gladiator. it's popular with a lot of people but I found it ridiculously depressing. Conversely, I didn't find 300 depressingly ridiculous; I had a great time with that one. [Message edited by Widescreen on 02-23-2009]
posted 02-23-2009 12:51 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	Clayton... This is probably just guilty on my part, but I thought the Hans Zimmer/will.i.am "Traveling Song" from Madagascar 2 to have been very well executed and worthy of a nomination. I'd put that in place of anything from Bolt.
posted 02-23-2009 01:56 PM PT (US)

Kirkinson Standard Userer	It's interesting to see people here disregarding the Oscars for not being populist enough, because I usually disregard them for being nothing more than a popularity contest. We're talking about the same Academy that gave record amounts of accolades to Titanic and Return of the King, aren't we? I'm not saying anything about either of those films, I just find the tug-of-war going on with the Academy remarkable. On the one hand they're afraid of giving nods to (for example) popular action movies because they're not regarded as artistic endeavors, but they're also terrified of alienating whatever audience they have left in the general public by awarding riskier, more obscure films (my favorite movie of 2008, Wendy and Lucy, would never stand a chance of winning anything). So they try to walk some line in between and end up losing huge chunks of the audience on both sides. One thing that people should keep in mind is that the Oscars were created -- frankly and openly -- to be a promotional tool. The awards season was originally conceived as a way for the major studios to promote films they were proud of. So you have to understand that from the Academy's point of view, it doesn't make much sense to give awards to films that have already made a billion dollars because those films don't need any more promotion. You already have that product; the Oscars are about selling you products you haven't bought yet. That's why no one feels guilty for voting for their friends: they're not voting for quality, they're voting for which films they'd like more people to pay for. Kirk
posted 02-23-2009 05:10 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	Kirk, I think that most of the disagreement and counter-arguments you'll find here have to do with the technical categories, which, since they exist at all, should go to the best and not to the most needing promotion or money or popularity... Like, I understand why Slumdog Millionaire would win awards for editing and cinematography (and even those are pushing it, as Lee Smith and Wally Pfister deserve those ad infinity for their excellent work on The Dark Knight in those categories, respectively--thank goodness Richard King won!), but all the rest are inconsequential, IMO.
posted 02-23-2009 09:55 PM PT (US)

Kirkinson Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by sean: Kirk, I think that most of the disagreement and counter-arguments you'll find here have to do with the technical categories, which, since they exist at all, should go to the best and not to the most needing promotion or money or popularity... Like, I understand why Slumdog Millionaire would win awards for editing and cinematography (and even those are pushing it, as Lee Smith and Wally Pfister deserve those ad infinity for their excellent work on The Dark Knight in those categories, respectively--thank goodness Richard King won!), but all the rest are inconsequential, IMO. Ah, good point. I got too caught up in my rant to consider it.
posted 02-23-2009 11:17 PM PT (US)

dgoldwas Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by Widescreen: One, the academy only had three songs nominated out of the many from the year? That's got to be off. How could they ignore John Mayer's "Say" from The Bucket List. That's because THE BUCKET LIST was a 2007 film..... But that being said, I agree that "I Thought I Lost You" should have been nominated (and they could have nominated 5 songs, as in previous years).
posted 02-23-2009 11:52 PM PT (US)

Crono/Kyp Standard Userer	"I Thought I Lost You" has really grown on me since I got the "Bolt" CD. It's a good song. --Brian NP: Kingdom Hearts
posted 02-24-2009 01:11 AM PT (US)

Widescreen Standard Userer	Good point, Dan, the time frame for which nominations are possible has to be accounted for, but that rule I'm sure gets stretched like any other in the Academy. Still just adds to my point that this song got lost in the shuffle.
posted 02-24-2009 07:41 AM PT (US)

dgoldwas Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by Widescreen: Good point, Dan, the time frame for which nominations are possible has to be accounted for, but that rule I'm sure gets stretched like any other in the Academy. Unlike the Grammys, the Oscars time frame is simple. January 1 - December 31. If it's a 2007 film, it won't be eligible for 2008.
posted 02-24-2009 09:34 AM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by sean: Clayton... This is probably just guilty on my part, but I thought the Hans Zimmer/will.i.am "Traveling Song" from Madagascar 2 to have been very well executed and worthy of a nomination. I'd put that in place of anything from Bolt. Holy crap I agree! We actually talked about that during the Oscars how none of the songs from Madagascar 2 were nominated, despite the Traveling Song actually being decent. I also was surprised the movie itself wasn't nominated as it was hilarious IMO.
posted 02-24-2009 10:20 AM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by scoreguy16: Holy crap I agree! We actually talked about that during the Oscars how none of the songs from Madagascar 2 were nominated, despite the Traveling Song actually being decent. I also was surprised the movie itself wasn't nominated as it was hilarious IMO. I intend to rent this soon, since I know the songs and score so well. I'm curious to see/hear how awesome Hans Zimmer's "Rescue Me" (easily one of the best pieces written last year!) works in the film.
posted 02-24-2009 01:38 PM PT (US)

StarlessWinter Standard Userer	Sean, has Zimmer really grown on you or something? I remember you saying once that you really didn't care for him that much, but it seems you've really liked some of his recent stuff. Just curious...
posted 02-25-2009 06:00 PM PT (US)

Crono/Kyp Standard Userer	Sean's on crack. --Brian
posted 02-25-2009 06:48 PM PT (US)

sean Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by StarlessWinter: Sean, has Zimmer really grown on you or something? I remember you saying once that you really didn't care for him that much, but it seems you've really liked some of his recent stuff. Just curious... I've always liked Zimmer's music. I'm a discerning Zimmer critic, for sure, as I'm not impressed by everything he scores, but overall he impresses me more than he doesn't. Last year was great where his output is concerned: The Dark Knight, Madagascar 2, and Frost/Nixon are all excellent scores... Kung Fu Panda on the other hand...
posted 02-25-2009 08:30 PM PT (US)

dgoldwas Standard Userer	"The Traveling Song" from MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA shouldn't have been eligible anyways, since it part of it was based on a theme from MADAGASCAR.... if memory serves at least.
posted 02-25-2009 11:21 PM PT (US)

scoreguy16 Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by dgoldwas: "The Traveling Song" from MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA shouldn't have been eligible anyways, since it part of it was based on a theme from MADAGASCAR.... if memory serves at least. Ahhh crap, you're right... Plus on CD, it seems very repetative. In the film they use a little snipet mixed with the score if I remember right...
posted 02-26-2009 11:51 AM PT (US)

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